Pitch Black
by HunterMoon1224
Summary: Emma is your average sixteen year old. But when her world is turned upsidown she must learn to feel things differently. Everything she has come to know has changed in the blink of an eye.
1. PREFACE

PREFACE

I'm breathing. Slowly but surely. Every breath is a pain. Each intake hurts more than the previous outtake. I know this is the end. No human being could survive this. This pain, this agony. Physically I am dying. Mentally I am tearing apart at the seams, longing. I wish that I could have seen him. Seen what he looked like. Seen the perfect face I had imagined in my mind. But never again would I see. This was it. I was dying.

If I wasn't dying then I wish I was. I wished that this pain would go away. Leave my body for good. I could feel myself slowly slipping under a blanket of warmth that I took only to mean the death of me. I wonder if I should just stop breathing all together to end this agony sooner. I could feel the rising and falling of my chest and suddenly wished it to stop. For all of this to stop. I held my breath. Falling…

I thought for a minute. If this was going to be the end I would die disappointed. I would die without ever getting to see the face that I had come to love_. His face._


	2. Chapter 01

I sometimes wonder why I bother to attempt perfection at all. I mean, would anyone really notice exactly when that level of perfection had been achieved? Would they care how long it had taken me to pick out my outfit? Or just how straight my brow hair would hang against the sides of my arms? I mean, how close to perfection can you come without killing yourself? Would anyone care even the slightest bit how much effort I had put into this whole ordeal? The answer to my question is no. No one cares how long it takes you to achieve perfection, only that it is done and done right. Then why do I continue to reach for this unachievable goal?

I left this thought and perused my useless morning attempt. I got started on my eyeliner. The permanent black stick felt like led in my hand as I carefully brought it to my eye. I often thought that Goths must have it easy. They would just paint on the black liquid and be happy with whatever the outcome was. If it bled all they way down their cheeks, even better! Maybe someone would think it to be one of those tears you occasionally see painted on the side of their faces. The perfectly shaped droplet of black. Yes, black was a color that could go either way. But when my eyeliner bled, it was considered ugly and would need fixing.

I carefully traced along the base of my eye where my eyelashes met my skin. Creating a thick line of black that would accent my blue eyes. I looked into the mirror. My eyes staring back at me. They were my favorite part about my appearance. I mean, it wasn't like I wasn't pretty. My pale skin was both luminous and clear. My hair was a decent shade of brown that was somewhere in-between the color of coffee and chocolate. I was pretty flat-chested but that didn't really seem to bother me these days. All in all I was just a typical girl when it came to appearance. But there was just something special about my eyes that even I thought was attractive. They were the perfect shade of blue, in which when it was sunny, they seemed to glow. It was my one way of standing out in the crowd of perfect blondes that seemed to live in this small town in Vermont.

I walked over to my closet t pick out something to wear. I swung open the wooden door and immediately walked over to my long sleeve drawer. The weather outside would be cold enough that I would need to fully cover my skin. I decided on a light blue v neck that had always been one of my favorites. I slipped the shirt carefully over my head, trying not to ruin my completed hair. The jeans I decided to wear were one of my favorites. Dark, ripped, and skinny. For shoes I chose a pair of black ballet flats with a small heel. I examined myself in the mirror. I was pleased with the way I looked. I was never the greatest looking girl at my school when it came to fashion but I had always been complimented on my clothes. I had a feeling that today would be much of the same.

I finished my morning routine a little early today. I was shocked by how much extra time I had accumulated. I decided to walk to school. I could drive but I prefer the feeling of the sun on my skin. I stepped of the porch of my house and down onto the grass of my front yard. It was cool today. Probably somewhere around 50°. This was warmer than usual for a November day in Vermont, but still slightly uncomfortable with the breeze hitting me. I walked hurriedly, wishing now that I had driven my car.

I walked down my street and up to the center of town. Cars passed me at rushed speeds, whipping cold air against me. My pace quickened. I looked around me at all of the beautiful Vermont houses. Most were fairly old but held a certain amount of elegance that could catch your eye. The town itself was hundreds of years old but I loved the look of the aged wood that surrounded me. The sun was out and was shinning down right above my head. I was thankful for this warmth. Without it, I probably would have turned around the moment I had realized the temperature out here.

I rounded the corner of the street and the school appeared in front of me. I was early, as I knew I would be. I entered the school and walked down the silent hallways. The silence seemed out of place compared to the usual chaos that was found inside the doors. I walked the distance to my locker. It was almost at the end of the Junior hallway. To anyone else this location would have been inconvenient, but to me it worked out just fine. My locker was only a few lockers down from my best friend Harley.

Harley. The definition of a best friend. There wasn't any one thing in particular that I liked about her. She was just kind of someone who was an all around good person. She had always been there for me and I knew I could always count on her to know exactly what to say. We had been friends since preschool. She also happened to be your typical beauty queen. She had what you could call "the look". Blonde wavy hair that hung halfway down her back. Green eyes that could attract every boy in our school. She also had the perfect figure that had boys drooling over her every move. I was jealous. I could admit this and move on. It was too hard to hate her for her perfection. She was just too good of a human being. And how could I hate on her for accomplishing the perfection that I couldn't? In fact, she deserved a friggen medal. I would remember that the next time I saw her. Which, with any luck would be in only a few more minutes.

I opened my locker and took out the books I would need for my first class. I closed the door and through my purse over my shoulder. I felt strange leaning against my locker in silence. I hate silence. I glanced down the hallway to see if anyone else had arrived. I was the only one in school this early except for Tucker. He was nice and chatty and I would have said hi to him but I wasn't really in the mood to make conversation. I was feeling lazy which I am sure everyone could see. If I had tried to start a conversation I probably would have ended up talking complete nonsense. Probably the result of the late night that I had spent online skyping with Harley. I wasn't use to staying up so late.

Unlike most of the girls in my grade I didn't usually go out to the many parties that were held every night. I had never smoked and I had only tasted alcohol a few times. One time in which my mom had offered it to me on my birthday. Its not that I was sheltered, it was just that I had seen what drugs had done to some of my old friends. I wasn't interested in becoming like them. The result of this was that I often stayed home instead of going to the huge parties. But don't get me wrong, I did attend the occasional party. I just wasn't a drug-crazed seventeen year old.

I couldn't technically say I was seventeen yet. My birthday is in January and today is only November 23rd. The day before thanksgiving break starts. This meant that there would be about forty different parties going on tonight to celebrate. I was too tired to even think of going out tonight. I would probably just end up sitting at home reading until I fell asleep. The parties were usually so packed that no one would even notice my absence.

The buses started emptying. Hundreds of people started to poor into the school. I gazed into the crowd looking for a familiar face. I don't know why I bothered to look at the bus-riding masses. Most of my friends would be driving themselves to school. Almost none of us rode on the big yellow buses. My group was all older than me. We were all at the older end of the Junior class. It didn't really bother me that I was the youngest. I was still older than most of my class.. Age was just a number, and its not like I'm young.

I glanced up to the clock that hung on the wall at the center of the hallway. It read seven ten. I had about five minutes until homeroom would start. I knew Harley would be here soon. She never showed up early for anything. Not that I could blame her, I mean school wasn't really something you rushed to. Everything else is always so rushed, why add to the stress. Unless of course you feel like showing up super early like me because you have nothing better to do. I saw the blonde hair walking towards me and I knew at once who it would be.

"Hey Emma. You look a little tired today. Wow! Actually a lot tired. What did you do, pull an all-nighter or something?" Harley had appeared next to my locker, looking as perfect as ever. She was wearing a dark purple tank top with a black button up sweater over it. Her hair was pulled back in the front and hung loosely in the back. She looked perfect as usual. I did notice however that she wasn't wearing her happy smile. Obviously I hadn't caked on enough concealer to hide the dark purple rings that hung under my eyes. Harley had gotten the full view and had dropped immediately to her black leather handbag.

She whipped out some makeup and went to work. It took her a totally of five seconds to finish the job. Her pale hand effortlessly brushing makeup back and forth across my face. Although it felt like she was rushing, I knew for sure that the outcome would come out as if it had been professionally done. Her smile returned. It was as if the fact that I looked tired had really affected her. Although for someone like her it probably did. She always seemed to care about others more than herself. This is why she is my best friend. I was too lucky.

"There you go. You know you really shouldn't stay up so late. You are going to start getting permanent wrinkles and bags." I was weird. Even though Harley had stayed up the whole night with me she didn't seem the slightest bit tired. " I mean seriously Emma, get some sleep. You don't want to be tired for all the parties tonight." She gave me a sly wink. I could tell that she was going to be mad when I told her that I wasn't planning on going to any of the parties. I considered lying and saying that I wasn't allowed to go. Or to tell her that I had made other plans. It just felt wrong to lie to her when all she did was tell the truth.

"Actually I didn't really plan on going. I'm kind of tired. I was just going to stay home. You know, watch some movies." I tried to look tired, not that it took too much effort. I really did feel bad about ditching though. "I am just going to take it easy tonight. Spend some time with the family."

"Oh come on Emma! It's going to be so much fun. And I heard that Nick Baker has a thing for you." She made another winky face at me before continuing. "You have to come! Boys, music, food! What more could you ask for?"

I quickly looked down. I felt myself getting sucked into a bad situation. I hated how Harley could take any situation that seemed bad and turn it into something completely amusing. I knew I was too tired to go though. I would have regretted going to the party so I knew I shouldn't. Even if this meant that I would have to let Harley down. I held my ground.

"Sorry Harley. I'm just too tired. I'll make it up to you some other time. But hey," I had to try to make things better because she looked upset, "If you want to come and chill at my house you can. It wont be as much fun as the party but if you wanted…" My voice trailed off.

"No it's alright. I'll go alone. I really don't mind. Besides, I was kind of hoping that maybe I would get some alone time with Seth." Her eyes drifted about ten lockers down. My eyes followed.

Seth was Harley's love interest. He was a tall boy. Taller than most. His hair was the color of sand and it went well with the clusters of freckles that lined the skin of his cheeks. He was a good dresser for a boy and he looked like he actually cared about his appearance. He was cute. I would give him that. But he really wasn't my type. Not that I had one.

I thought about this for a second. Did I have a type? Boys in general I guess. I thought some boys cute, but I really just wasn't interested in the boys at our school. It wasn't that they weren't good looking. In fact, most of them were. We were known for our wide selection of adorable men. It was just that they were all only interested in getting some and I was looking for a little more than a one night stand. None of them really wanted a girlfriend. I was never that type of girl. I would never change for a guy. No matter how adorable.

My thoughts returned to Seth. I hoped for Harley's sake that Seth was different. Maybe he was. He was smart and he had been nice all the times that I had been around him. He was sort of funny too. He had made me laugh on several occasions. I guess I could see why Harley liked him. Hmm…Cute too. I abandoned this thought. My mind was too tired and was talking me into thinking too deeply about Seth. Stop this Emma.

The bell rang.. It was about time too. With the amount of thinking I had done it had seemed like an eternity had gone by. I rushed into homeroom and took my seat. I cleared my mind in the four minutes I had. I was way too tired and it was obviously showing. The clock seemed to sense my longing of more time. The hands wound their way around their paths in what seemed like ages. I was thankful.

I walked to my first period class. I had English and we were reading one of my favorite books. The class passed quickly as we talked about vocabulary and grammar. We had been asked to do a writing assignment on a topic of our choice for our homework over break. I loved having this freedom to do a free write. The bell rang and I walked of to my second class. This meant French class. This had usually been my favorite class but I was feeling too tired to concentrate on the translation we had been asked to do. My mind was floating off and m pen had began to scribble nonsense on my lined paper. Thankfully the beel rand again marking the start of lunch. I stopped at my locker quickly to hang my book bag. I grabbed my calculus textbook and walked off along the hallway to go to lunch.

As I passed Harley she walked with me. She started chatting about how she had been sure she had just failed a Spanish text. I was sure that she hadn't because Harley was naturally good at every subject. My mind began to wander some more as we walked down the stairs to the open room of the cafeteria. It was as loud as ever which pulled me from my trance. We entered the lunch line that was the farthest to the left. I was barely able to concentrate on what my hand was choosing for me to eat today. I paid two dollars and walked off to my table with Harley following behind me.

We took our usual spots at the table and I began to eat in silence. I chewed my food slowly barely noticing the salad that I was eating. Harley munched upon a turkey sandwich a some potato chips. I let my mind wander again. Thinking about my bed. So warm and cozy. I wished that I had could be in it right now. I contemplated playing sick. The nurse would send me home if I told her I was going to puke. Then I could crawl into my bed and catch up on some sleep. I probably would have followed through on this plan if it wasn't for the fact that today was the last day of school before vacation. I really didn't need to be missing all of the tests that we had today. I hated that about vacation. Teachers always made sure to have a test right before the break. Just what we all needed to start off our break.

Lunch seemed to pass quickly. My legs dragged me on to my next class. Calculus was always boring. I guess maybe this was due to the teacher. Mr. Brown talked non stop almost the whole class. He had a boring voice that reminded me of a news reporter. His voice dragged on about something I wasn't paying too much attention to. At the end he assigned the homework that I knew would be almost impossible for me due to my lack of attention in class today. Only one more class I thought to myself. Only Anatomy and then I'm free. I walked off to class and took my seat behind Harley. This was the one class we had together. I had almost completely forgotten about the test we were having today. Me and Harley had studied for hours last night. We were both very strict on ourselves when it came to school. For Harley the work came naturally, for me it involved endless hours of studying and practicing.

The teacher passed out our tests and we immediately went to work. I was surprised at how many of the question I was able to answer in ease. My confidence was rising. I glided through the rest of the test in ease, answering the open response essay without the slightest hesitation. I was sure that I would get at least an A- on this test. The class sped by and I was one of the first ones to complete the test. My teacher Mrs. Bottomly gave me an approving nod. The rest of the class was spent doodling on my notebook. Thankfully the class was rushing by, ending in the surprise of us having no homework. The bell rand for the last time today and me and Harley walked back to our lockers.

The day passed quickly. I hadn't received as much homework as I had anticipated. Usually the teachers would load on the homework in hopes that it would keep the teenagers inside and out of trouble. Funny. Like a little extra work would actually keep them in. When teenagers want to go out and get hammered, they aren't usually the type who care about finishing their calculus homework.

I arrived at my locker and got out the books I would need for the weekend. It seemed like the day had gone by in a rush after homeroom had ended. Maybe it was due to my lack of sleep. I probably wasn't thinking clearly. I wasn't complaining however, I was thankful for the speed the day had taken on. I walked more slowly on my way home from school. I had no reason to rush, why waste the effort.

The walk home was a blur. A rush of colors around my eyes. The colors of November chilled me. The sun beat down against my skin just as it had done in the morning, only now it was slightly lower in the sky. It warmed me. The two forces seemed to balance each other out like tug-o-war. The cold air and the warm sun, like opposites. But that's life isn't it? Give and take. Equality.

I reached my house in a reasonable amount of time. My parents weren't home from work I noticed, not that I had expected them to be. They usually worked from very early in the morning until around five o'clock. My dad worked at an office job and he loved every part about the social aspect of this. My mom is a teacher. The job had always seemed so perfect for her. She loved people and had always been very nurturing. She treated everyone like her children, which made everyone she met fall in love with her. Both my mom and my dad worked the same hours to be home as much as they could. They thought this worked best so they would have more time to spend with me and my older brother James. My mind wandered to him.

James. My other half. He's is a senior now, but if you didn't know that you would probably mistake us for twins. We looked exactly alike. Brown hair and blue eyes. The same eyes as me. It was kind of shocking in a way. Maybe we should have been twins. I thought about this for a moment. We did seem to have that twin bond going for us. We stuck together and it was nice to have someone to look up to.

James always got home first. Even when I drove. This was because he had a free period at the end of the day so he left an hour earlier than me. Sometimes I drove with him to school when I didn't feel like walking or driving myself. For an other senior this would have seemed like a hassle to drive his little sister to school. Me and James had just always gotten along. I walked up the porch stairs and into the house. I was in the kitchen.

"Hey Em how was school?" James had come into the room. He was heading for the fridge like he always seemed to do when I got home. He ran on an internal clock.

"The usual. I got a mound of homework. You know how it goes." I walked over to the fridge where he was standing. I had just realized how hungry I was. I opened it up but there didn't seem to be anything appetizing to me. I settled for some juice. Disappointed again.

"Have any plans for tonight? Any pre-game parties?" A smile ripped across his face. James always tried to get me to go out and failed miserably almost every time.

"Nope. Probably just going to go to bed early. I'm pretty tired." I yawned at just the right moment. I poured myself some juice and let it fall down my throat with ease. The cold juice felt good against my throat.

"Come on, you never do anything crazy or wild! Come to a party with me. Lets get crazy. Lets get crunk!" James looked at me with eager eyes, I looked back at him with tired ones. We both started to laugh. James could always make me laugh. No matter how upset or down I was James could always put me back together and keep a smile on my face. He knew it too. He abused it even on many occasions.

"I know haha. I'm lame. You'll get over it. I have." I shot him a quick smile. He gave up and walked away. It probably wouldn't be the last time I heard about this.

I put my glass and the dishwasher and then decided to go to my room. I needed some rest. I climbed the two sets of stairs to my room. With each step it brought with it a change in temperature. A shiver ran down my back. It was always so much colder in my room compared to the rest of the house. So much for the whole heat rises theory. I opened my door to the familiar golden room I had come to love. I had designed the room myself. Golden drapes hung over my window to match the golden bedspread on my queen sized mattress. Black pillows lined my bed to match the black area rug that now warmed my feet. However, I was still cold.

I pulled a sweatshirt off the back of my chair. I tugged it over my head and then went and sat on my bed. It was only three o'clock. Any other day it would have seemed too early to go to bed. I decided to take out a book I had been reading. I really didn't want to fall asleep just yet, it would lead to me waking up later and throwing off my internal clock. I flipped the book open to where I had left off. I had been reading an old book I found on my bookshelf. The front cover was missing so I had never really found out the title. The book fell open effortlessly into my hands due to the age of the bindings.

I really couldn't tell you how many pages I had read, or even for how long I had done so. All I know is that I dreamt of love that night. The kind o love that makes you feel all warm inside. Something told me that this must have been what I was reading about, although I couldn't really remember. It was nice. Beautiful. Peaceful. It was entirely fake


	3. Chapter 02

When I woke up it was only to find that I had slept for pretty much the whole afternoon. Another day wasted and yet I was still tired, not as tired as I had felt throughout the day however. I looked at my clock. It told me that it was ten thirty. James would probably have gone to one of the many parties he had been invited to. This made me curious. I ripped myself out of the warmth of my bed and walked over to look out my window. Sure enough, his car was gone. I walked back over to my bed and sat down above the covers. My parents would be sleeping by now. There really wasn't much to do.

I contemplated going back to bed but I figured that would completely set me off my usual sleeping schedule. This was definitely not going to help the whole tiredness situation as is. I sat on my bed for a while just thinking. I thought about nonsense for a while, just trying to pass the time. I even tried to remember what my dream had been about, but this ended in frustration as I realized I couldn't remember as single thought. I ended up failing at this too. I had already wasted half an hour doing this. Then a thought came to me. It was probably a dumb idea but I guess I could go to a party. What harm would be done? Harley would love this idea. I smiled knowing that I was going to be making Harley happy.

I got off my bed and walked over to my closet. I wanted to look nice if I was going to go out at all. When I opened my closet door it was only to find that there was almost nothing good enough to wear. I wasn't much of a dressy person. I must have dug through my closet for about twenty minutes before stumbling upon my super tight and super short blue halter dress. This was definitely party apparel. I stepped into the dress and clipped the straps behind my back. Harley was going to die when she saw me at the party. Of course, I was probably going to pass out when I got there. I was still running low on energy. I took a good look in my mirror. The dress was clingy in all of the right places, low cut in the front. Good enough I thought to myself. It would have to do. I brushed through my hair and pulled the top part into a pouf. It was straight enough to leave down. I grabbed my purse and ran down stairs. When I reached the bottom I realized that I didn't know which party Harley had decided to go to. I pulled out my blackberry and texted her. She would probably never answer back, not if she was at a party. Especially if she happened to be at a party with Seth.

I decided to just go to the Crowley boys' party. They always had the best music. Their house was also only ten minutes away. I walked down the porch steps for the second time today and the cold air hit me again. I got into my car and put the key in the ignition. I thought for a second whether or not I should leave a note for my parents. I decided not to. I would be back before they even got up, and it wasn't like I wasn't allowed to go out. I have free will.

I drove along the twisting roads to the party. When I got there I could see that I had obviously chosen the best location. The house was lit up with thousands of Christmas lights. They lined the way all the way down the long driveway that curved up towards the beautiful house. It was more like a castle than a house. I hadn't been to one of their parties in a while but I was sure that this was definitely not the same house I was use to. I drove up the driveway feeling mesmerized by the beauty surrounding me. The house stood atop of a hill. The grass was cut to the perfect length and was filled with a beautiful flower bed. I was surprised to see the full blooming flowers in the middle of November. The house was huge and made from stone, further adding to its castle appearance. The large chimneys erupted from the black roof. I looked as if the house had been pulled right from a story book.

I parked my car next to a small blue car. I would have to try to remember this location for later. I walked to the huge front doors of the house. It was too loud inside so I knew that no one would hear me knock. It seemed rude to me but I knew for sure that I would have to just let myself in. I pushed the door open and was immediately swept up into the chaos. The music was so loud that I could barely hear myself think. It was kind of annoying come to think of it. I looked around through the masses of bodies surrounding me. I couldn't see Harley anywhere. Maybe I had chosen the wrong party. This thought pissed me off. I was going to have no one to hang out with all night. Great.

I looked around at the scene surrounding me. There was a huge dance floor that was filled completely filled with sweaty bodies. To the far corner of the room was a lounge area in which couples were sitting on couches. It looked like on big make out session. I would be sure not to go over to that half of the room. I walked deeper into the party. Through a white archway it appeared to be less chaotic so I made my way over. It was difficult to push through the crowds of people without getting wept up into the groups. When I entered through the arch way I noticed what appeared to e a snack bar. I made my way over to the snacks. At least I could eat. I was starting to feel a little hungry on top of my tiredness. I found myself stuffing my face with mounds of food. Chips, salsa, cookies, anything I could get my hands on. The taste of the food barely hitting my taste buds before being quickly swallowed. I was acting absurd. My mind seemed to lose itself in the food. I was slipping into a trance. The music swayed me back and forth pulling me deeper into my tired eating frenzy. This was definitely not lady like. I stopped and hoped that no one had just seen me do that. All I really wanted to do now was sit down.

"Hungry are you?"

I whipped around startled by the sudden voice in my ear, breaking me from my trance. Crap. Someone had seen. I hoped it had only been Harley but the voice sounded too masculine to be hers.

"I could get some more food if you want. Haha you don't have to eat so fast though. You might choke."

I turned around and looked up to find Nick Baker staring down at me. He was smiling which made me blush. How embarrassing. My cheeks burned with humiliation. I could feel my cheeks becoming rosy.

"Oh, sorry. Don't mind me. I was just a little hungry. I'll stop now." How lame of me. No excuse could cover my behavior. I began to walk away but Nick's voice caught me.

"Haha you don't have to stop. It was actually kind of amusing. Keep going. I wont say anything anymore." His face studied mine for a moment.

I looked up at him. He was very cute. Taller than me but not huge. He had blonde hair and green eyes. Not as beautiful as Harley's, but definitely very nice. He seemed to glow under the light of the chandelier. I had always thought he was handsome but I never really talked to him much. And now look at me, I was stuffing my face in front of the boy.

"You are kind of cute when you are hungry." I blushed some more at this comment. It seemed kind of random. "Wait haha that was lame. Not really what I meant." His cheeks seemed to redden at his awkward comment. He was cute with his rosy cheeks.

"No it's ok. I get it." I couldn't help but smile. His returning smile was just as nice.

"Want to dance?" He smiled down at me and I couldn't help but say yes.

"Of course." I smiled back at him as he pulled me out onto the dance floor.

There was a fast song playing from the DJ as our bodies swayed back and forth on the dance floor. His hands grabbed my hips which startled me a little bit. I wrapped my hands around his neck deciding to just go with it. We danced like this for what seemed like forever. I was beginning to feel tired again. My eyelids were dropping closed on me and Nick could tell I was falling asleep.

"I'm getting a drink, do you want anything?" His voice seemed soft against the raging music.

"No thanks." I replied in a hushed voice.

"I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." He quickly pecked my cheek.

I stayed on the dance floor for what seemed like ages. I felt dumb dancing by myself. I moved back and forth out of time with the music. I was falling asleep and I hoped Nick would come back quickly so I could tell him that I needed to leave. I guessed that it had been about twenty minutes since he had left to get a drink. I was just about ready to leave without saying goodbye, I was too tired to dance any longer. Maybe too tired to move. I was startled when I felt two arms wrap around me from behind. His voice came warm against my ear.

"You want to go somewhere and talk?"

Normally I would have said no but I hoped that maybe wherever he would take me to talk would have somewhere I could sit down. I was starting to feel tired again. I was losing it. I nodded my head and followed him through the crowd. He led me up a flight of stairs. This alone should have hinted to me that he didn't really just want to talk. My thinking skills were failing me. I was falling asleep.

We walked down a long hallway to the end of a long line of doors. He opened the door. Inside was a queen size bed and a couch the sat across from it. A bedroom. Oh no. I tried to turn around but he grabbed my arm.

"Don't worry we are just talking." He smiled again. Something felt wrong about his smile now. Something I hadn't seen before. I tried to open my eyes wider but this only made me more tired.

I walked into the room and sat on the bed. He sat on the other side facing me. He was a little too close for my likings. He carefully brought his face closer to mine. I turned my head slightly. It felt weird to be close to him like this. I didn't even really know him.

"You know, you are really pretty." His breath brushed against the side of my face. It was warm and wet. I smelt it then. The alcohol now became visible. How didn't I notice this before? He was drunk.

"Yeah and you are really drunk." I tried to pull away but again he held me where I was.

"We are all drunk babe. Isn't it great.?" his grip was still tight on mine. He had obviously had more than just one drink. His words were slurring and I suddenly felt really annoyed to be in his presence. He wobbled a little and his head smacked into my forehead. Then his body fell on top of me.

"Ouch! Get off me! You are hurting me!" I tried several times to push him off of me but his body weight was too much. I could feel his lips moving against my neck and I wanted him off more than anything. I struggled some more but I was pinned. Finally I found the strength and I pushed him off of me. His body slumped over onto the bed face down. I had never felt more violated in my life. My hair was all messed up and my dress was riding up. I quickly tugged it down and walked out the room as fast as I could. I closed the door behind me. It would probably take him an hour before he even remembered that I had been there and how to let himself out. I needed to get out of here. My head was now pounding from Nick's head smacking into it. I practically fell down the stairs from the pain acting with my lack of sleep.

I was too tired to drive. I knew it would be stupid to even try. I decided to just take a little rest before I left. I walked over to one of the empty couches and plopped down. I popped two Tylenols into my mouth and sat back. I was probably asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

~**~

"_Emma_?" A voice called into my ear. I opened my eyes to find Harley staring down at me amazed.

"Hey Harley. I was just taking a little nap. When did you get here?" She looked startled. Maybe by my appearance? I tried to raise my head but I suddenly felt the pounding return so I laid it back down.

"I have been here the whole time. What happened to you? Why is there a bruise on your head. You look terrible!" She walked over to me and helped me up. "Are you drunk or something?"

"No, I am just tired. I was going to stay home but then I came here and you weren't here and I hit my head on Nick and then I fell into this chair and-" Harley cut me off. I was babbling.

"You hit your head on what? You aren't making any sense Emma. Never mind. Lets just go home."

I allowed Harley to help me up. I looked around. Besides a few other people we were the only ones here. How long had I slept for?

"What time is it?" I looked over at Harley. She glanced at her phone before answering.

"Almost four in the morning. We really should get home before our parents wake up. This is a little excessive for partying." She walked me out the door. "Where is you car?"

"Umm…I don't really remember." My head was still pounding. I didn't know if I would be able to drive myself.

"Yeah never mind. You cant drive. You can come sleep over my house. We can get your car in the morning." Thank god for Harley.

I got into her car and took out my phone. I sent a text to James telling him that I was sleeping at Harley's tonight. He answered back in what seemed like only seconds. I was too tired to even look at it. My eyes were closing. I was out.

~**~

When I woke up I was in Harleys room on a blow up mattress. I didn't even remember getting out of the car, let alone blowing up a mattress. It must have been Harley. I was warm under the many blankets she had laid on top of me. I looked at the clock. It was eleven. Harley wasn't in the room. Just me. I stayed in bed for a while. I was fully rested now but I didn't feel like getting up. The party came back to me in a swirl of confusion. Why had I even gone to that stupid party? This reminded me about how much my head hurt. It would probably leave a mark. I picked up I mirror that was on Harley's night table and held it up so I could see my reflection. When I looked into the mirror it was only to wish that I hadn't. my face was covered in makeup all mixed together on my skin. My eyes had dark purple circles under them that were puffy and ugly. My hair was all messed up and looked like it had never been combed in my life. The worst part of my appearance however was the black and blue bump on my forehead that was the size of a golf ball. I brought my hand up to my face and rubbed the spot. It hurt to the soft touch of my fingers. Great.

Harley came in and sat on her bed just then. She looked down at me with a look of curiosity and then sadness.

"Your head looks terrible Emma. What exactly happened to you?" Yup. Definitely a mark was left. She looked confused.

"Well I thought it would be cool to go to the party and see you but it just turned into a bad mess. I showed up and couldn't find you. And then I ran into Nick and we got talking. We were having a good time but then he left for a while and I didn't realized that he had drank while he was gone. He started to take advantage of my while I was feeling really tired. He was grabbing me and it was horrible." Harley's face looked sad and upset. "Then he started to get all wobbly and smack! His face hits mine." She smiled a little at this and I was glad.

"You should have come and told me you wanted to leave!" Harley looked upset again.

"I couldn't find you and you didn't answer my texts." I didn't want to make her feel worse. I could have just dropped the subject.

"I'm sorry, I was with Seth." She smiled when she said his name and I could tell that she wanted to tell me her story of what had happened at the party.

"Is there something you wanted to tell me?" I was curious now.

"No no really." She was still smiling. Then she jumped up off her bed out of excitement. She could never hold anything in for too long. "Oh ok fine! Me and Seth are going out. Well kind of dating!"

"Kind of?" I didn't really think you could kind of date someone. It was either a hook up or a done deal.

"Well we got talking last night and he was really sweet and all. We were dancing and having a good time. Then we talked some more and he told me about his life and everything. He was really interesting and I was having a great time. He just looked in my eyes and I looked back into his. It was cute and I thought we were just going to stay like that for a while but then he took my hands and whispered something into my ear. And I was too excited that I didn't even hear what he said to me. So was like "What?" and he smiled and asked me if I wanted to hang out with him sometime. So of course I said yes. Then we kissed and then he just followed me around all night. So I think we are dating. Right?" Harley was talking at one million miles a second which had left her out of breath.

"Haha yeah of course. Totally." Harley is always so funny. Her excitement is humorous. I couldn't help but be happy for her. It was nice that someone had a nice time at the party last night. Even if it wasn't me.

We talked for a while longer. She told me all about what she and Seth had talked about. He seemed like a really nice guy and I was happy for her. Then she decided that I would need to get my car back. She drove me back to the party. She let me out and said goodbye. She said she would call me later. I smiled and then walked over to find my car.

I found it easily enough. There is was. Still next the small blue car. I wondered why it was still here. I got into my own car and shut the door. I realized then whose car it was that was parked next to me.

Sitting against the leather seats was Nick. How ironic. Why does this always happen to me? I tried to look away but it was too late. He had seen me. He got out and walked over to my window. He motioned with his hand for me to roll down the window. I obeyed.

"Hey Emma. Last night was really fun wasn't it?" He obviously didn't remember anything that had happened.

"Yeah, loads of it." I started to roll up my window but he stopped me.

"Maybe we could hang out sometime. You know, go see a movie. It might be fun. What do you think?" He looked serious.

"No thanks."

"Oh come on! It will be a good time." He winked at me.

"I said no thanks." I rolled up the window and took off. No way was I ever going to go out with him. Never.

I drove quickly on the way home. Trying to forget that little encounter. I made it home at around two o'clock. James was sitting on the living room couch watching tv. He looked up when I came in.

"Emma! You partied last night! That's great! Now we can go out and party all of the time. This is so great!" His face was lit up. I started to laugh as I put my book purse down. How did he know all this?

"Harley called me to tell me you were over. She gave me the whole story. Nice outfit too haha." He glanced over me. I had completely forgotten that I was wearing this dress. I must have looked like a stripper with my makeup all messed up over my face and my hair all pulled out in different directions.

"Crap. I need to change." I was walking away when James spoke again.

"Yeah you need to get ready. We are going to Grammas house tonight." This confused me.

"But thanksgiving isn't until tomorrow. Why are going tonight?" I didn't understand why we were going tonight. We always went the morning of. It was only a short drive to my grandparents' house in Maine so it didn't require much time for the drive. I was shocked that no one had told me about the change in plans until now.

"Yeah well we have to go early this year. Spend more time with the family I guess. I know its crappy. But hey, we can go do something fun up there. Go to the beach or something. It'll be cool .I promise." He smiled at me. I knew that he would do everything in his power to make this fun for me.

"Ok. Sounds great." I smiled back and then walked towards the stairs.

"Oh yeah, Emma? I told mom and dad that you were at Harley's all night. They have no clue that you got crunk." He winked at me.

"Haha thanks a lot." I pretty much owed James my life.

I walked to my room and took our my travel bag. I guess I would need to pack for two nights now. I threw together what I thought I would need. Toothbrush, pajamas, extra clothes, makeup, hair products. The usual stuff. I deiced that I should probably take a shower. I knew for a fact that you shouldn't really show up anywhere looking like I did now.

I walked to the bathroom and turned the water on. After it warmed up I stepped inside and let the water fall on my skin. It felt so nice to be in the warmth. A used shampoo and conditioner in my hair. When ii was done I shaved my legs and then rinsed myself with my favorite body wash. I washed my face with a cloth and was surprised to see how much makeup stained the cloth as I rinsed it out. After about twenty minutes I stepped out of the shower and I dried off. I walked to my closet and put on some skinny jeans and a long sleeve shirt. I threw my hair up into a messy bun leaving only my bangs down. I don't really where a lot of makeup so my face only took a few seconds to complete. I put on my eyeliner and then stood back to take a good look at myself.

There they were again. My eyes. Looking back at me. Looking straight through me. I looked down. I walked over to my window to close it. I had left it open before my shower to let in the breeze. It had gotten pretty steamy in here but I was now chilled.

Before I closed it something caught my eye. I looked out. Looked at the world around me. The trees. The sky. Down to the grass that was layered with white frost. I looked at the lush clouds. So fluffy and white. Back to the sky. So bright. So blue. Bluer than my eyes. Bluer than the sea. It was like its own shade completely one of a kind. A new color. Created entirely by itself.

My mind was so lost in the pretty colors that surrounded me that I had barely remembered that I had somewhere to be. To my grandparents' house for thanksgiving. I knew it would be slightly boring but with James it would be a little better. I brought my head back inside the window and then closed it. _It was time to go._

"Are you ready to go Emma?" James' head stuck in through my door.

"Yeah I guess. Are you ready to go eat lost of food and sit around with the old people?" My mind had thought of last year about how we had spent almost four hours sitting amongst our older relatives listening to them fight about old people nonsense. It was one of the most boring life experiences I had ever sat through.

" Pshh yeah!" James smiled and then lunged at me. He cought me around the waste and swung me over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" I yelled but I knew it was no use.

"Haha I don't think so. Come on Emma lets go sit in the car." He started to walk out of my room. I then remembered that I had left my bag on the floor.

" Wait we forgot my bag!" James turned around and without even setting me down, picked up my blue duffle bag and slung it on his shoulder.

And with that we were off. He walked out my door and closed it. The last thing I saw was the brightly lit sun shinning in through my window onto my golden bedspread. I smiled.


End file.
